Saturday, August 22, 2009

Gushing Post About Stellar 9-Year-Old

Spencer did his first triathlon this morning.

Did you read that right? My 9-year-old did his first triathlon. Seriously. He did. I've got the pictures to prove it.

It was awesome! We first found out about it several weeks ago and since then, Spence has been in "training" mode. Every morning, he would go out for his mile run with Hannah and Sienna cheering him on and offering him his water bottle as he went by. In the afternoon, he would hit the pool and swim laps. In classic Spencer fashion, he took it all very seriously and loved every minute.

He set his alarm to wake up early this morning but not before laying out all his gear right next to his bed. His bag was packed, the car was loaded and off we went.

He was super excited to get his registration packet because inside were his T-shirt and most importantly, his neon orange swim cap. You would have thought it was Christmas morning. He was SO happy.

After we got all his stuff ready to go, we had quite awhile to wait before the race began but Spence loved watching all the other athletes.

He loved that they wrote his number and age on his arm and leg.

He loved seeing his friends from school.

He loved seeing all the volunteers be so excited for the kids.

He loved every second.

Just before they gathered the kids together for some last minute instructions, I pulled him aside to check his nerves.

"You ready buddy?"

"Yep."

"You nervous buddy?"

"Yep."

"You know all you have to do is have fun, right buddy?"

"Yep."

And then my favorite moment of the day came when he said "it's just so cool to look at all these kids and know in just a little while we'll all be triathletes."

I love that he was never worried about how he would do, or if he would win, or who would beat him. He looked at the whole thing as a new experience that he would enjoy, no matter what. That kid could change the world if given the chance.

Psyched before the race

All set up and ready to go

Spence, Quentin, Dustin and Tavin, the triathletes

The pep talk beforehand

The cheerleaders: Sims, Sienna, Hannah and Megan

And they're off!

Out of the water, off to the bike

Coming in strong, right behind Tavin

Tavin, Spence and QuentinThree very tired but incredibly proud triathletes

We are so proud of you Spence! You set a goal, worked hard and had the time of your life. It's official. You can do anything.

I AM:

I WANT:

Happy children. Health for all. Pretty nails. Chocolate. More time. Quiet. To see the world. Thin thighs. To learn another language. To be well read. To think before I speak. Peace.

I HAVE:

A fabulous husband. A charming batch of kids. Enough laughter to make the world go round. An able body. The chance to do good. Time to improve. The desire to be me. An abundance of love. A positive outlook. Things to achieve. Enough of what I need. A dream.

Welcome.

Words To Live By

“i believe in pink. i believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. i believe in kissing, kissing a lot. i believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. i believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. i believe that tomorrow is another day and i believe in miracles.”-audrey hepburn